PEORIA — What began as a sweet moment — a makeup graduation at Monday’s Peoria District 150 School Board meeting with the cap, gown, pomp and circumstance of earlier graduation ceremonies at Peoria Civic Center — soon devolved into verbal and racial landmines unusual even for a District 150 board meeting.

Board President Rick Cloyd and Savino Sierra, a regular critic of the board, got into a standoff about Sierra’s use of mild profanity, while other public comments, including assertions that busing is detrimental for children and the district should return to neighborhood schools, sparked Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s ire.

Another regular board critic, retired teacher Sharon Crews, barely got to finish her statement about the implications of Lathan’s use of racialized language before board member Laura Petelle interrupted, saying, “I’m sorry, but this is getting really incendiary.” At least two District 150 administrators voiced loud disagreement with Crews’ comments.

Lathan took the opportunity of the superintendent’s response to lambast her critics.

“How dare you continuously, on a monthly basis, throw in my face that race doesn’t matter,” she said.

Comments such as busing doesn’t work are offensive, she added. Apparently in response to Crews’ remark that her former students had taught her, a white woman, to see life through their “black eyes,” Lathan said, “You can never and you will never know the African-American experience.”

Lathan continued, “We have 14,000 students, and all 14,000 count.” She listed a number of initiatives designed to improve achievement throughout the district. “I think the problem is we’re giving every child a quality education, and I think that scares some people.”

“Race does matter,” she concluded, “and race is an issue in our schools and in our country.”

As for the sweet moment, Richwoods High School Principal Cynthia Clark granted a diploma to Keith King Jr., who missed the ceremony because he was competing in the state track meet. King earned nine letters in three sports and will attend Augustana College.

“This means a lot,” King’s father, Keith King Sr., told board members. “Coming from two teachers myself, I know the value of education.”

Much of the board’s business was spent on a policy discussion on the format of public comments for future meetings.

Board members approved the amended 2013-14 budget after a brief public hearing. The budget has a deficit of $5.8 million, about $400,000 less than projected.

The board also approved $50,000 for a one-year licensing agreement with Carl Cannon for use of the ELITE Program model at Trewyn School and Harrison Community Learning Center.

Page 2 of 2 - Pam Adams can be reached at 686-3245 or padams@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @padamspam.